Herland · Chapter
IX: Our Relations and Theirs explained
The narrator contrasts Herland's collective, growth-oriented society with the individualistic, home-centered culture of the men.
What happens
The narrator contrasts Herland's collective, growth-oriented society with the individualistic, home-centered culture of the men. The women cannot comprehend the concept of a private home with a non-working wife, and the men struggle to explain their customs. The chapter explores Herland's child-rearing, education, and language, emphasizing a unified life cycle focused on national service rather than gender division. Terry grows increasingly frustrated, while Van and Jeff find contentment with Ellador and Celis.
Themes in this chapter
Gender Roles and Social Organization
The chapter contrasts Herland's single, collective life cycle with the men's dual gender roles, highlighting the women's inability to understand private homes and non-working wives.
Motherhood and Social Motherhood
Motherhood is presented as a national service; children are raised collectively with a focus on growth and service, and the state is remodeled for the good of the child.
Education and Knowledge
Herland's child-literature and education are deliberately designed for growth and relation to national prosperity, as illustrated by Ellador's butterfly story and the insect teacher system.
Characters to notice
- Van
Narrator; reflects on Herland's child-rearing and contrasts it with his own culture; in a deep, restful relationship with Ellador.
- Terry O. Nicholson
Frustrated and quarrelsome with Alima; complains about lack of vices and attempts to explain traditional gender roles; dismisses Herland women as 'neuters'.
- Jeff Margrave
Defends Herland women's virtues; happy with Celis; contrasts with Terry's discontent.
- Ellador
Curious about the men's world; explains Herland's child-rearing and education; shares a story about a butterfly that led her to become a forester.
- Alima
Intermittently 'on' and 'off' with Terry; questions the role of women in the men's society; takes notes during discussions.
- Celis
Explains that Herland women cannot live in one place due to work; happy with Jeff.
Key passages
“We cannot really understand it. We are only half a people. We have our woman-ways and they have their man-ways and their both-ways. We have worked out a system of living which is, of course, limited. They must have a broader, richer, better one. I should like to see it.”
Ellador admits that Herland's perspective is limited and expresses a desire to learn about the men's more complex society.
Shows Ellador's open-mindedness and the cultural gap between the two societies.
“They've no modesty. No shame—no knowledge of anything to be ashamed of. Even their shortcomings and misdeeds in childhood never were presented to them as sins; merely as errors and misplays—as in a game.”
Terry criticizes Herland women for lacking a sense of sin or shame, viewing their moral framework as merely corrective rather than punitive.
Highlights Terry's inability to grasp Herland's ethics based on growth and evolution.
“It was a butterfly that made me a forester. I was about eleven years old, and I found a big purple-and-green butterfly on a low flower...”
Ellador recounts how catching a rare moth led her to a career in forestry, illustrating Herland's integrated education and national service.
Demonstrates how Herland children's interests are channeled into socially beneficial roles.